Six Weeks
by HinnyandRomione4ever
Summary: A series of one shots that take place in the six weeks that Harry and Ginny dated during Harry's sixth year from many different point of views. Involving the conversation after the kiss, Ron and Dean's reactions, to the day they break up. Rated T to be safe. All canon pairings. All rights belong to JK Rowling.
1. After the Kiss

**_So, this is going to be a series of one shots that take place over the six weeks Harry and Ginny dated at Hogwarts before the Battle. It 'completed' because depending on the response I'll either keep adding one shots or just keep it as is. So hope you guys like it!_**

_Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her. _

_After several long moments—or it might have been half an hour—or possibly several sunlit days—they broke up. The room had gone very quiet. Then several people wolf-whistled and there was an outbreak of nervous giggling. Harry looked over the top of Ginny's head to see Dean Thomas holding a shattered glass in his hand and Romilda Vane looking as though she might throw something. Hermione was beaming, but Harry's eyes sought Ron. At least he found him, still clutching the cup and wearing an expression appropriate to having been clubbed over the head. For a fraction of a second they looked at each other, then Ron gave a tiny jerk of the head that Harry understood to mean, Well—if you must. _

_The creature in his chest roaring with triumph, he grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which—if they had time—they might discuss the match._

Harry and Ginny walked next to each other in silence for a long time. Both not really knowing how to start a conversation. The ability to talk was masked through the shock of what happened.

Harry didn't even know why he did it. He didn't know what drove him to it. And he definitely didn't know what to do next. In his eyes, Ginny was quite opposite. She seemed calm, and collected. Not really feeling awkward from the silence, just casually walking next to him with a blank mind.

When really Ginny's mind was buzzing with thoughts that ranged from, _'What just happened?' _to, _'I can't believe Hermione was actually telling me the truth.' _She didn't want to look up at Harry for the idea that he may be thinking the kiss was a mistake, and she didn't want to start talking because her voice may falter from nerves. But she decided to anyway.

"So, how was detention?" Ginny asked, avoiding eye contact. Harry looked down at her with a blank expression.

"Um, the way you'd expect detention with Snape would go…how was the match?" Harry asked, mentally kicking himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Good." Ginny replied nodding her head awkwardly.

"Harry! Ginny! Congratulations on the match!" Luna ran up from behind them.

"Thanks, Luna." Ginny said.

"Too bad you weren't there, Harry. Ginny was on fire. Probably the best Seeker I've ever seen." Luna said with a dreamy smile on her face. Ginny froze; she was only filling in as Seeker because Harry was out.

"Well, I wish I caught the last bit of the game at least." Harry said with a slight smile on his face.

"Wait, shouldn't you two be celebrating the win?"

"We were but it's mad in there so we thought we'd get away for a second." Ginny said quickly. Luna gave her a slight smile and shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to go back to my common room. Gloomy moods seemed to attract Wrackspurts; I'm hoping to catch some soon. Maybe find out how to get rid of them."

"That sounds really interesting." Harry said, hoping Luna would leave so he could talk with Ginny alone.

"Oh it is. Well, see you later." Luna said before skipping off.

"You know she's one of my best friends but sometimes I worry—"

"Ginny, we're not really going to talk about Luna first are we?" Harry asked nervously. Ginny looked up at him slightly nervous.

"Well, not if you don't want to…what do you want to talk about?"

"What do I—I just—I'm mean, back in the—we just—and you—"

"Harry, I think we're both trying to stall that conversation. But if you want to get it out of the way, it'd be better if you'd stop stuttering." Ginny said smiling.

"Well, I just thought you'd be slightly more anxious about this than I am."

"Why would I be anxious? I didn't kiss my best mate's sister." Ginny said laughing.

"Yeah…I did, didn't I?" Harry said quietly looking at the ground.

"Why?"

"You mean, why as in why did I kiss you, or why as in why am I anxious?" Harry asked.

Ginny smiled and rolled her eyes, "I mean, why you kissed me."

"Well, I guess I…kind of fancy you." Harry said he was sure he was probably red at this point.

"You do?" Ginny asked her expression unreadable.

"Yeah, I do. I have for awhile…"

"Awhile? How long?"

"I dunno, maybe since August…when we spent so much time together."

"You have? But…but why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you? I couldn't tell you; you were dating Dean, and then that never goes well."

"Okay; and you know that because."

"Because that just wouldn't work out. You'd probably have thought I was some sort of creeper."

"I wouldn't have. You wouldn't have been more of a creeper than eleven year old Ginny who sent a complete stranger a singing valentine." Harry looked into Ginny's for the first time.

"We weren't complete strangers."

"Really? Did you even know my name?" Ginny asked smiling, it was obvious she was joking.

"Yeah, of course I did."

"Do you know my full name right now?" Ginny asked smiling.

"Uh…I don't…" Harry said sheepishly. Was she trying to convince him that they are _still _complete strangers?

"We have a lot to talk about on this walk don't we?" She said smiling.

"Well, I guess the first thing we should do is answer one question." Harry started, "Ginny, will you consider, you know, dating me? Like as in, boyfriend and girlfriend?" Ginny gave him a wide smile and grabbed his hand.

"Of course, I wouldn't have let you kiss me if I didn't like you back."

They started walking again.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, by the way." Ginny said looking up at him.

"Ginevra? I thought Ginny was your name…"

"I wish. But no, my mom named me after a spice." Ginny said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I think it's a brilliant name."

"Let me guess, yours is Harold James Potter." Ginny said.

"Um…kind of…I don't think my name is Harold…but I don't even know if my Aunt and Uncle know what my full name is. I'm not sure if they have a birth certificate to find out."

"Well, Harry James Potter is your full name. I like the sound of it better than 'Harold'." Ginny said squeezing his hand.

"Then I'll keep it as Harry,"

"I feel as though we should rattle off just stupid little things about us. I feel like I don't know that much about you." Ginny said casually. This was weird for Harry because for a long time he felt as though he knew a lot about her, but maybe he didn't.

"Okay. Favorite color?"

"Green, you?"

"Red."

"Favorite animal?"

"I guess a stag…that's my patronus, you?"

"Well, I guess a horse. Maybe a patronus is your true favorite animal."

"So I guess no one in DA truly likes giraffes."

"I guess not then." Ginny laughed, "Alright keep going, your turn."

"Favorite food?"

"Pumpkin Pasties."

"Treacle Tart."

"Um…favorite holiday?"

"Isn't everyone's Christmas?" Harry asked.

"Well, I couldn't think of another question."

"Alright, then what are your pet peeves."

"Pet peeves? Wow, Harry Potter; are you trying to get on my good side?"

"Maybe."

"Well I guess…I don't like a boyfriend who is always over casting me—Dean did that a lot—and I guess I don't like people who can't complement someone without complementing themselves."

"Elaborate more?"

"I guess, for an example, 'Oh you're really smart, you may be as smart as me.'" Ginny said shaking her head, "Now, your pet peeves?"

"I don't like girls who cry on the first date."

"Well, what did you expect when you tell a girl that she's boring you and that you'd rather hang out with your friends?" Ginny laughed.

"What? I never said that."

"I know you didn't. But that's the story she told."

"That explains the looks of death I got from her friends." Harry thought aloud.

"So, how do you think Ron's going to take this?" Ginny changed the subject.

"Not well…he didn't take you and Dean very well, I'm sure he'll hate this."

"Please don't let him ruin this, Harry. He shouldn't have the authority to judge you or me."

"But he's my best mate and your brother. He kind of does." Ginny sighed.

"Well, I think tonight will be a long night for both of us; I have to go back to my dorm and deal with all my dorm mates, and you have to go back and deal with Ron and Dean."

"Will your dorm mates be hounding you with questions?" Harry asked smiling.

"No, just hate glares like always. They may be a bit stronger tonight."

Harry stopped walking and asked, "Always? Aren't you friends with your dorm mates?"

"No. I never have been… all four of them were friends before Hogwarts. A pretty tight knit group, so when I was in the dorm they didn't talk to me. And then, you know, Tom happened and they decided to rub it in my face once the rumors spread. Not to mention before that they would laugh at everything I did because I was awkward and quiet. And then when I was gullible, I let their attempt to embarrass me happen when I was thirteen…," She trailed off, "I don't know, I didn't make actual friends until my third year."

"Third year?" Harry asked, "What about Hermione? And Neville? You were friends with them, weren't you?"

"No, Neville and I weren't formally introduced until my third year… And I always thought of Hermione as Ron's friend. She would stay in my room when she came to the burrow, and she would talk to me, but I always thought she was just being nice until the night before the Quidditch World Cup when she told me that I was one of her best friends. And I wasn't going to turn that down."

"I was your friend." Ginny looked up at him and snorted.

"No, you weren't, Harry. The only conversation we ever had one on one was in the chamber, until I was fourteen and we were at Grimmauld Place. And even then we weren't exactly friends."

"I thought of you as a friend."

"You must have a low standard when it comes to friends." Ginny laughed.

"Back then, yeah, I guess I did." Harry said smiling, "But we were friends this year, right?"

"I think we were…wait a minute…you didn't put me on the Quidditch team because you fancied me did you?" Ginny asked crossing her arms.

"No, no, no, I put you on the team because you played on it last year once and because you were one of the best chasers to try out. And apparently one of the best seekers."

"No, I wasn't the best seeker…Luna was just trying to make me feel good about myself. I think you're a brilliant seeker. I mean, why wouldn't you be if you were one of the youngest in a century and you're really good at—"

"Its okay, Ginny, I'm not offended by it." Harry said squeezing her hand. Ginny gulped.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Rambling…it's a bad habit I have when I'm nervous…well not nervous just when I feel the need to say something or save myself from something stupid I say. It usually annoys people and I seem to do it a—"

"Ginny," Harry said, covering her mouth with his hand, "You're rambling about rambling." Ginny turned bright red and Harry realized he was touching her face and quickly pulled back, "Sorry."

Ginny nodded but couldn't keep the grin from showing.

"So…Harry James Potter?" Ginny asked smiling.

"Yeah, Harry James Potter." Harry laughed. This was going to be a fun relationship.

**_So I've just seen a lot of 'After The Kiss' one shots that were very fairy tale like and that's great but i feel as though if that happened to you in real life it would be pretty awkward. What do you think? _**


	2. The Boys

**A/N: So I have a couple questions for my loyal readers.**

**I'm thinking about doing a Sequel to **_That Will Show Them. _**Maybe make the one shot into a two. If you haven't read it, it's on my profile (It's about showing her brothers she's just as good as them)**

**I'm finishing **_To Make Life More Complicated_** at the moment so what would your final requests be. What do you really want to see happen in the story? (It's my time travel story)**

**Lastly, in my story **_Independent_**, I have the main storyline down I just want to see if the storyline is something you all would like. PM me if you want to hear what I'm hoping to have in the story and if you want to give your opinions.**

**Thank you to everyone who has been patient with me. High School is tough, especially right now with my midterms coming up.**

The door clicked behind him. He took a deep breath, looking at the ceiling.

"So, what happened?" Ron's voice broke through the sudden silence. Harry opened his eyes and looked at his best friend who was sitting on the edge of his bed. Harry glanced around at Seamus, Neville, and then Dean.

"Um, nothing too interesting." He said walking over to his bed and pulling out his trunk from under it.

"Nothing too interesting? You didn't talk about anything of importance?" Ron asked swinging his legs over to the side where Harry was at.

"Well, we talked about a few things." Harry replied, as he rummaged through the opened box.

"So, are you two dating or not?" Ron asked, finally impatient with his best mate's slyness. Harry glanced again at Dean, who was lying on his bed 'reading' a copy of '_Which Broomstick?' _

Harry looked over his shoulder at Ron and gave him a slight nod, watching his best mate carefully.

"Oh." Ron said shortly before diverting his eyes to the ground in front of him. Harry noticed Dean visibly tighten in the corner of his eye.

"Well, congrats, mate. Scoring a girl like Ginny is pretty impressive." Seamus said clapping Harry on the back before walking toward the bathroom.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked defensively. Seamus stopped in his tracks and looked at Ron with a slight smirk.

"Look, Ginny and I are friends and I didn't mean that as a bad thing. But, Ginny is a kind of rebel in more than one ways. It makes sense that Harry would be attracted to her." Seamus said walking backwards into the bathroom.

"Ginny's a rebel?" Neville asked confused. Harry shrugged and Ron kept his eyes on the closed bathroom door.

Silence fell over the dorm and everyone knew why. Tension between Ron and Harry was going strong but not as strong as the tension radiating from the silent Dean. Seamus had come out of the bathroom and had resorted to sitting on his bed, leaning against the headboard with his arms crossed.

"So, the match went well, yeah?" Seamus started a subject, looking around the room. The only response from his fellow dorm mates were slight nods and awkward smiles.

"Katie Bell was going great for most of it. I'm sure it was hard for her to come back after what happened." Neville said, messing with the curtains on one of the posts in his bed. Harry closed his trunk with a few things in hand and sat down on the bed.

"You were doing pretty well yourself, Ron." Seamus chimed in. Ron looked up at him with a cold face.

"How is Ginny rebellious in more ways than one?" Seamus' smile disappeared and was replaced with a confused, misbelieving look. Harry looked up at Seamus as well with curiosity about his new girlfriend.

"You don't know?" Seamus asked glancing from Ron to Harry to Neville, "She doesn't care what people think about her, she's a fierce competitor on the Quidditch Pitch, she has quite the temper, and she's skipped at least ten classes in the last three months."

"Ginny's skipped classes?" Ron asked dumbstruck.

"Yeah. She does it quite a lot. When she doesn't have her homework finished, when she doesn't feel up to it, when she would rather spend time with D—I mean, when she'd rather spend time with her friends." Harry's eyebrows furrowed, not entirely sure about what Seamus was saying. Sure; Ginny seemed like quite the character but Harry wouldn't call her rebellious by any stretch. But what would he know; according to her they barely knew each other.

All of the sudden, Dean closed his _Which Broomstick _and threw it across the room at a wall.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Ron asked defensively.

"I would appreciate if you lot would shut up about my ex-girlfriend." Dean said sending an extra long glare at Harry.

"Well, it's not our fault that you two broke up, mate. Plus, it wasn't like you two were going to last much longer anyway." Seamus said, summoning the magazine from the ground.

"Shut it, Seamus. It doesn't matter if my relationship with Ginny was going down the tubes; I still had one with her and it ended. And it's very irritating to hear my friends talk about her while I'm around."

"Dean, you two broke up a good three weeks ago. If Ginny wants to date Harry, I think you shouldn't be so annoyed about it." Ron said standing up from his bed, "Plus, did you think I liked hearing you and my friends talking about how good of a kisser _my sister _was? So, I think you should shut it."

Dean kept his stance in front of Ron and then looked at Harry.

"What happened to the guy code?"

"Guy code?" Harry asked confused.

"You're not supposed to go after your mate's ex-girlfriends or crushes."

"I'm sorry, mate, you may believe in all that, but I can't say the same. I like Ginny, and I have for a long while."

"That's a load of rubbish. Last time I checked, you were fawning after Cho." Dean said, "Don't look at me like that, we all knew."

"I have liked her for a while. Since the end of last year, but then she announced she was dating you so I kept my distance."

"Still, Ginny was off limits for you and anyone in this room."

"So? Ginny was off limits for you; she was my sister! But that didn't stop you." Ron said, "If you're not following the guy code than why should we?"

Dean opened his mouth to say something then closed it. Understanding that Ron was the right one in the current situation.

"I'm going for a walk." Dean said picking up a jacket from that was hanging over the edge of his bed.

Everyone watched as he left the room, slamming the door behind him. Now all the attention was on Ron and Harry.

"Do you approve or don't you? Because as much as I like Ginny, our friendship is a whole lot more valuable." Harry finally broke the silence. Ron gave his best friend a long stare and then sighed.

"Do I really have a choice? Because I know that if I say 'no,' you two will date anyway." Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

"So is that a yes?"

"That's a yes. But, don't think I won't be watching you two. I'm drawing lines. No going out after dark. In other words, once the sun sets you are in my view s"o I can be sure that there won't be any funny business going on. There are boundaries about how far you're allowed to go with her. I'm sure you can guess where the limit is."

"You're going to tell Ginny all of this too, right? I don't want her to think that this is all my personal choice."

"She'd probably hurt Harry if you don't, Ron." Seamus said smiling in his own Irish way.

"Thanks for your input, Seamus." Ron replied sarcastically.

"My pleasure, mate."


	3. Free Period

"Alright, who was the Minister for Magic in the years of 1811-1819? And what was their significance in the Wizarding society?" Harry asked with a _History of Magic; 5__th__ year _textbook on his lap.

"Artemisia Lufkin and she was the first female Minister for Magic and established the Department of International Magical Cooperation." Ginny said lazily.

"Perfect," Harry said smiling, before picking a grape from the vine on the blanket and throwing it to his open-mouthed girlfriend. Unfortunately, though, she didn't catch it, "That wasn't so good, though." He laughed after the grape bounced off her nose and into the grass.

"That was totally not my fault. You threw it too high." Ginny said before picking up the grape and throwing it into the Black Lake for the Giant Squid.

It had been a warm, sunny, April day, and the two decided to spend their free period outside, away from the hounding questions from Hermione and the disgusted looks from Ron. With Ginny's OWLs approaching, the couple's time was limited by extra credit classes, study lectures from Hermione, and the stalls tried by Ron.

"Alright, question twenty-two; How did Venusia Crickerly, Minister for Magic of in 1903-1912, die?" Harry asked before popping one of the grapes into his own mouth.

"I dunno." Ginny said tying her hair into a pony tail.

"You have to at least try and guess."

"I dunno; he caught dragon pox?" Ginny asked looking out across the lake.

"No; that was Eldritch Diggory in 1747. Venusia Crickerly died from a freak mandrake related accident."

"I have a question for you. How am I supposed to know every Minister for Magic since the position was established in 1707?"

"I don't know."

"What's the significance of me knowing all of this?" Ginny asked in a whiny type of tone.

"You have an exam that you have to pass and this will be on it."

"But then after the exam, what is this going to do for me in the long run?"

"Gin, I don't know, I'm just the messenger helping you study." Harry said closing the textbook.

"Well, tell me, how did you memorize all of this?" Ginny asked leaning against their oak tree.

"I didn't. I'm not good at History of Magic. I don't think I even tried to memorize any of this." He said scooting next to her.

"Well, did you pass?"

"Yeah; I passed all of my exams."

"So I should be fine then right?"

"If you're good at guessing." Harry said eating another grape.

"Well, then I'm done with studying for History of Magic." She said grabbing her textbook and stuffing it into her old satchel.

"Anything else you need help studying in?" Ginny gave him a small smirk and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I personally think I'm all caught up to where I want to be."

"Oh, are you?" Harry asked smugly. Ginny giggled and nodded.

"But with all my studying, I think I've been lacking in one thing." Ginny said smiling.

"Which is?" Harry asked. Ginny glanced down to his lips and then back to his eyes. Harry knew what she was asking for and to be honest, it had been three days since they last kissed and he was getting a little antsy about it. So, together they leaned in and their lips finally touched. The kiss started out slow and then as time went on became more heated and passionate. Before she knew, Harry had broken the rubber band that had kept her hair in the neat ponytail and was twirling her locks between his fingers.

"Hmm." The sound of a throat clearing behind them. Ginny groaned, but Harry didn't know why. "Excuse me, on bombarding on your—uh—private moment but I was sent out here by Professor Flitwick." Professor McGonagall said in a stern tone.

Harry glanced at Ginny confused as he saw her face flush.

"Ms. Weasley, I think we both know that you have a class to be going to in this hour. I'd think with your exams coming up you'd find a Charms lesson to be more priceless than this." Professor McGonagall said glancing at Harry.

"Yes, Professor." Ginny said swinging her satchel over her shoulder.

"I'll have to notify your parents, Ms. Weasley, you know that, correct?"

"Yes, Professor."

"I thought so." Professor McGonagall said before striding off and calling over her shoulder, "Get to class."

"Wait, Gin, this isn't your free period?" Harry asked catching up to her. She diverted her eyes to the ground and shook her head. "When is your free period?"

"During your potions class." Ginny said quietly.

"Well, at least let me walk you to class." Harry said grabbing her hand and walking with her.

"Wait, you're not mad?"

"Not really." Harry said with a small smile. In all honesty, he remembered Seamus mentioning something like this earlier. The couple walked across the field into the castle, up the stairwell, down the corridor, around the corner and to Ginny's classroom.

"Thanks for walking with me." Ginny said before turning around, but Harry grabbed her wrist and spun her around.

"I'll see you during _your _free period." Harry said kissing her on the cheek. The corners of her mouth curled up as she nodded and walked into her class.

"Oh, Ms. Weasley, how nice of you to grace us with your presence." Flitwick's voice was heard through the doorframe.


	4. Potions Class

"Yes, yes, now slice one Grindylow eyeball right down the middle and quickly drop it into your cauldrons—yes, that's right—oh Merlin, Mr. Finnegan I didn't say throw it in there—great job, Mr. Potter—Mr. Wallombey—"

"It's Weasley."

"—I said a Grindylow's eyeball not a Kneazle's. Go get the correct eyeball from the cupboard."

Harry silently laughed as Ron took his walk of shame over to the cupboard.

"Alright, class, now as we let the potion brew for the next few minutes, I think it's about time to warn you, fifth years are taking their OWLs next week and I've requested for them to come and join you for the second half of class for extra practice. They'll be here soon, and each of you will be paired up with a fifth year in order for them to observe you're talented potion-making skills—Wallombey that's a Pixy's eyeball; can't you tell the difference between the sizes, boy?" Professor Slughorn reprimanded.

Harry felt his face flush. Fifth years. Coming to observe class. Ginny.

Alright, it was time to 'up his game.' This potion needed to be perfect to impress her. Harry peered over his cauldron of boiling, green liquid and then glanced back down on his textbook that was covered with tight scroll of _the Half Blood Prince_. He'd been doing everything the book has told him to do. He'd ignored Slughorn's directions when the book told him to add something else. The book hadn't let him down yet, and hopefully it wouldn't today.

The doors creaked open and a group of about twenty students strolled inside. Harry searched through the group for a head of ginger locks. When his eyes had finally found her, she had been looking at him already. Ginny didn't know the class she was going to observe was Harry's class.

"Alright, I'm going to pair each one of you with a sixth year and you will work together and observe them. Alright, Ms. Vane, how about you go with Mr. Zabini. Uh, Mr. Corner, you'll be with Wallombey—"

"—it's Weasley.—"

"—Uh, Ms. Lovegood, go ahead with Ms. Granger. And Ms. Weasley, go work with Mr. Potter—"

Ginny couldn't help but smile as she walked over to Harry's work station and dropped her bag next to the vacant stool next to him.

"Hey," she whispered to him smiling.

"Hey, who would've thought that we'd be paired up together?"

"I know. So, what are we brewing?"

"Are we really going to brew this potion? I'd rather just slack off."

"Coming from the guy who doesn't have OWLs next week. Now, tell me what are we brewing?" Ginny said smugly.

"Heating potion."

"Which is…?"

"You know the potion that warms you up."

"Does anyone even that use that? There are heating charms that work without brewing anything for hours and hours on end."

"Does the logic behind it really matter when it's for a grade?" Harry asked. Ginny only shrugged and glanced down at the textbook in front of her boyfriend.

"What's that all over your book?" Ginny asked.

"Oh it's, uh, nothing." Harry grabbed the book and snapped it shut, "it's just some markings a student made a couple years ago." He shoved it into his bag.

"Wait, don't we have to use that?" Ginny asked putting her hand on his forearm to stop him.

"Oh, no, Slughorn is walking us through brewing the potion." Harry said buttoning his bag up and dropping it back onto the floor.

Ginny sent Harry a skeptical look for a moment then pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"Hey, why is Romilda Vane staring at us?" Harry whispered quietly. Ginny glanced up and then rolled her eyes.

"Remember what I said a couple weeks ago?" Harry shook his head, "She doesn't like me. And she likes you. Therefore she hates me." Harry furrowed his eyebrows and then grabbed her hand, earning sharp glares from Romilda before turning around back to Blaise.

"Just keep your grubby hands away from my potion! You're lucky you still have those after dating my sister!" Ron's voice echoed through the suddenly quiet room.

Ginny's eyes bulged out of her head and she turned a dark shade of red.

"You don't know anything about brewing a potion! Why are you even in this class?" Michael retaliated.

"Corner! Switch with Ms. Lovegood! Weablebey, you better hold your tongue. I haven't dismissed a student from my class in a long time." Slughorn ended the argument.

"It's Weasley." Ron muttered under his breath.

"Add two pinches of the Black Lake's salt." Slughorn said, returning to his teacher's textbook.

"May I?" Ginny asked. Harry nodded. Ginny stood up and hovered over the cauldron, adding the salt she was instructed to do. Harry watched the black salt sprinkle the grey liquid like stars in the gloomy, night sky.

But, under the tattered cover of the textbook in Harry's bag, right in the middle of page three hundred and eighty-two, read the unruly scroll, "_Do not add salt from the Black Lake._"

The potion started to bubble out of control. Harry stood from his seat and picked up the wooden seat. He began to stir the reacting potion in order to soothe the bubbles.

"Is it calming down?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"I don't know." Harry said lifting the wooden spoon from the now black liquid.

"Harry."

"What?"

"The spoon." Ginny whispered, pointing to the handle in Harry's hand. But that was it; just a thin handle.

"That's not good." He said before the potion started to boil over the cauldron's rims.

"Potter! Weasley! Back away!" Slughorn's voice broke through the room.

_Half an hour later…_

"Why did you let me add the salt?" Ginny asked from her cot in the hospital wing.

"How was I supposed to know it would react that way?" Harry asked, icing the burns on his arm.

"I think I've decided I'm going to stray away from potions."

"Right there with you."

Ron and Hermione entered the hospital wing with Slughorn at their heels.

"You guys were lucky it's just some burns on your arms." Hermione said, "Looks like your potion just overheated." She said, a little smug.

"Well, accidents happen, at least your potion succeeded in the purpose, even if a little enthusiastically. Willamy's, over here, did get past three degrees Celsius." Slughorn joked gesturing to Ron. "I should give you four some space, hope you feel better, Potter, Weasley." Slughorn smiled to his two students and exited the room.

"Of course," Ron said, shaking his head to Ginny, "he can get your name right, but not mine."


	5. Behind you

It was a normal day, well night. Ginny had instigated the whole meeting; sneaking out of the dorms at exactly 10:35 and meeting up on 'Harry's chair' for a few hours without the wandering eyes or grimacing glares by her brother. Now there she was, waiting for her boyfriend to come down the stairwell.

Ginny sat down on the plush chair and stared into the fireplace. Something was going on with Harry; he seemed distracted, withdrawn. She wondered if she had done something to make him feel uncomfortable. That was the real reason for this meeting. She wanted him to tell her what was going on.

She had a couple ideas, well, for one, You Know Who was at large once again; according to letters from Tonks, his follower count was growing and growing, this may not just be a little fight. No, this was going to be war. And it seemed lately, the skies were turning more sour every day. The other idea of hers was that he was planning something. Planning on taking this war on alone.

She didn't know what these meetings with Dumbledore were about, hell, she didn't even know why they were happening. But, if anything, she knew that whenever he came back, he was in a stony mood. Every meeting put another thing on his mind. And if it kept going like this, he was going to go insane from all the pressure.

"Sorry, Ron was taking forever to fall asleep and then I wanted to be sure I could get past him before sneaking out." Harry said from the bottom of the stairwell.

"It's okay, I assumed something like that was going on." She replied getting up for him to take his seat and then settling back down on his lap.

"So, why exactly are we down here when we both could be asleep in our separate beds?" Harry asked with that crooked smirk of his.

"Just wanted to have some alone time with you; you know, just talking and stuff."

"Oh, so snogging is off limits?" He teased.

"I'll make my mind up as we go." She said with a small smile. Harry's smile dropped and was replaced with a confused face.

"What's wrong?" She smiled at his concern; typical Harry, thinking something was wrong right off the bat. Well, makes sense because at the moment, something was.

She took a deep breath and ran her hands through his hair, "You tell me."

"What do you mean by that?"

Ginny shrugged but kept their eyes locked, "Harry," She said softly, "you can talk to me."

Harry's eyes turned intense, but not as though he was angry, more like he was having an inner battle between letting Ginny in or shrugging off the topic at hand. Ginny kept her breathing steady even though she was freaking out whether she overstepped her boundary or if she was doing what she needed to do as a girlfriend.

Her turned his head back to the fireplace and rubbed her upper arm a couple of times.

"I just have a lot to do, and so little time to do it."

"Okay, Harry, I won't accept that as your answer." She nudged him. He reconnected his eyes with hers and sighed.

"You don't understand, Ginny. Something is brewing; far worse than what we imagined. Even Dumbledore is nervous. He told me that this is my battle to fight; that it's between me and Voldemort." Ginny closed her eyes for a brief moment at the mention of the real name, "This isn't going to be settled within a couple of months, this is going to be worse than the first time. And everyone is expecting me to be this hero, and I'm not. What happened to me when I was a baby was just coincidence. I didn't have a say in what happened that night, I don't know how I'm supposed to kill him."

"Harry, that's the thing, you _are _a hero."

"You, like everyone else, overestimate me." He said playing with a fray in the hem of the couch.

Ginny put his hand on his cheek to turn his face to her and reconnect their eyes, "Am I? Harry, in my eyes, you are a hero. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." Harry's face turned to guilt at her words, "And I'm forever grateful that you saved me. You were twelve when you did that, and I know, it's different this time, but it's not just you; it's not _just _your battle. We all are going to be fighting it too."

"I know, I didn't-" He interrupts himself to keep his voice from rising, "I didn't mean it like that." He said in a forced-calmly way.

"I know you didn't," She said in a solemn way, "But, although you didn't mean that, I know that's how you feel." His eyes weren't sad, almost guilty. "And I can't speak for everyone, but, when it comes to me, every decision you make, no matter how stupidly noble it is, I'm behind you."

"You do know what comes with saying that?" He asks suspiciously.

"Of course. But, that doesn't mean I won't want to murder you half the time." She teases. His face cracks a smile as he pulled her closer into his chest.

"I'm okay with that." He murmured into her hair. She snuggled against him and watched the flames of the fireplace.

In one week's time, everything would change. A mentor gone. A relationship dissolved. And the scary truth of reality would hit them hard. A war was well on its way. And there was no stopping it.

**A/N: There will be one more one shot in this series, thank you to everyone who has been patiently waiting for an update for this story every time a new chapter has been released!**


	6. The Last Day of School

The Great Hall was filled with chattering, and sounds of scraping forks against plates. Breakfast time. Harry looked around, almost as though he was savoring every second he had in here; it would be his last either way. Ron and Hermione were in their own world, conversing about the latest edition of the _Daily Prophet _and the article about who was the most successful witch.

Harry pushed his eggs around the plate and thought about the last two days. It had been a long two days, between Dumbledore's death and, well, no comfort coming from Ginny, Harry was having a tough time. Now Harry had to think about the task at hand. He was sure he was going to leave. He needed to search for these Horcruxes before Voldemort killed everyone he knew.

Harry glances around the room and then his eyes double take to the doorway of the Great Hall. Ginny was walking into the hall her eyes on the floor. Harry watched as she walked past the trio and sat down next to Neville, Seamus and Dean.

"You really must have pissed her off for her to not even acknowledge you." Ron whispered, glancing over to his sister.

Harry looked at Ron with intense eyes and gave him a small shrug. Ginny was a sensitive subject at the moment.

"Of course, he did, Ronald. Being broken up with hurts."

"She knew it was coming." Harry said, once more pushing his eggs across the plate.

"That doesn't matter, Harry. When it actually happens it still stings." Harry looked up at Hermione and sent her a tired expression.

"She knows what's going to happen. She knows that this is bigger than our relationship."

"A little harsh, Harry." Hermione said with a look of disgust.

"I'm just being realistic." He snapped back at her.

"Well, sorry," Hermione snapped back, "I just had to listen to Ginny tell me how heartbroken she was that this is how it was going to be for an hour last night. But, I'm sorry you're too busy worrying about saving the world that you don't care how the people feel that you're saving."

Harry looked up at Hermione to retort but stopped himself, "Sorry. I got a lot on my mind." He chanced a glance at Ginny who was pushing her eggs around her plate just as he was. He dropped his fork and took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

"So, what's the plan? Are we leaving straight off? Are we waiting?" Ron intervened, changing the subject.

"The Order has a plan for me in the summer, I don't know what it is yet, but I think we're not leaving until later."

"Did Dumbledore let you in on where these 'crux' things are?" Ron leaned in; in question.

"Okay, for one, they're called Horcruxes," Harry said in an irritated way, "Two, no, Dumbledore didn't tell me how to destroy them or even how to find them. He let me in on no information regarding what they might be; all I know is that there is seven of them." He popped the knuckle of his thumb and shifted his eyes between his two mates.

"Geez, if I knew you were going to be so sassy, I would have asked Ginny to come over here and snog you senseless before asking." Ron joked, taking another bite of sausage.

Both, Hermione and Harry sent Ron a look that read, '_Are you kidding me, Ron?_'

He stopped chewing on the food and swallowed, "It was just a joke." Harry once again glanced over to his ex-girlfriend and locked eyes with her. Her eyes flickered at him, up and down, before she turned back to her plate. She hadn't looked at him with distaste, or hatred, more like she was a little disappointed.

Hermione seemed to notice but her expression didn't change. Harry knew that he wasn't on her good list at the moment.

"I think I'm going to go get my trunk in order." Harry said, getting up from the table at leaving the Great Hall.

"He's going to be a ray of sunshine these next few months, isn't he?" Ron asked, watching his best mate leave the room. Hermione nodded with a sad smile. She glanced over at Ginny who seemed to be watching him leave through the doorway as well.

Harry climbed up the moving stairways and walked down the corridors until he met the Fat Lady. She opened the door immediately, knowing that Harry Potter was in no need to be hassled today. He walked through the common room and up the stairwell until he got to the dorms.

He pulled his trunk out from under the bed and went to the small wardrobe that had his name plastered on a gold plate. He opened it up and threw the clothing that was in it on the bed.

_"Why?"_

_"You mean, why as in why did I kiss you, or why as in why am I anxious?" Harry asked._

Harry opened the small drawer of the cabinet and threw the socks out one at a time onto the bed. He shut the drawer once it was empty.

_Ginny smiled and rolled her eyes, "I mean, why you kissed me."_

_"Well, I guess I…kind of fancy you."_

He walked over to his bed and sloppily started to fold the clothing and throw it into the trunk.

_"Well, congrats, mate. Scoring a girl like Ginny is pretty impressive."_

Harry strided to his desk and grabbed a few things off of the top. He, one at a time, started to place them on top of the folded clothes and rolled up socks and repeated the process over and over again.

"_I can't speak for everyone, but, when it comes to me, every decision you make, no matter how stupidly noble it is, I'm behind you."_

He clicked the trunk closed and took a seat next to the box. Harry sighed as he looked around the dorm that has been his room since he was memories he had from here with all of the guys were going to stay with him. He didn't know if he was going to make it out of this war alive, but one thing was for sure, Hogwarts had been his home.

He met every friend he had here. He gained every mentor here. He found someone who made him happy here. Even if that had ended, it still was going to stay with him. And hey, why act like that was the definite end? In a perfect scenario, they would be together again. Time will tell.

"_But, that doesn't mean I won't want to murder you half the time." _

He smiled as he reminisced, _Thanks, Ginny, for the best six weeks of my life._

"_I never gave up on you, not really. I always hoped." _


End file.
